Image: Ultima Thule New Horizons CA06 vertical

Description: Ultima Thule - High-Resolution - as/of 22 February 2019 - New Horizons spacecraft, taken 1 January 2019[1]https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizons-spacecraft-returns-its-sharpest-views-of-ultima-thule The most detailed images of Ultima Thule -- obtained just minutes before the spacecraft's closest approach at 12:33 a.m. EST on Jan. 1 -- have a resolution of about 110 feet (33 meters) per pixel. Their combination of higher spatial resolution and a favorable viewing geometry offer an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the surface of Ultima Thule, believed to be the most primitive object ever encountered by a spacecraft. This processed, composite picture combines nine individual images taken with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), each with an exposure time of 0.025 seconds, just 6 ½ minutes before the spacecraft’s closest approach to Ultima Thule (officially named 2014 MU69). The image was taken at 5:26 UT (12:26 a.m. EST) on Jan. 1, 2019, when the spacecraft was 4,109 miles (6,628 kilometers) from Ultima Thule and 4.1 billion miles (6.6 billion kilometers) from Earth. The angle between the spacecraft, Ultima Thule and the Sun – known as the “phase angle” – was 33 degrees. References ↑ Chang, Kenneth (22 February 2019). "New Ultima Thule Photos Were Made in a Flash - The images were recorded while the New Horizons spacecraft was moving at more than 32,000 miles per hour.". The New York Times. Retrieved on 23 February 2019.
Title: Ultima Thule New Horizons CA06 vertical
Credit: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/ultima-thule-1-ca06_022219.png
Author: NASA/Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute, National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No